The Alpha Assassin

*Trigger warnings for this book. m.urder and talk of and implied s.exual assault, and talk of s.uicide* I stood in blackness, darker than anything I had seen or felt before. It pulsed through me. It was me. My parents' b.odies were twisted and bloodied under my feet, indicating a death that was anything but painless—they fought back until the very end. Blood p.enetrated my senses; its thick tang coated the air, coated my hands. My head was clouded, my vision blurry from the moment I stumbled upon them. I looked for them for solace, to help me, but it was too late, and I could do nothing to help them. They were past help. I fell to my knees, accepting my fate. I reached for their hands, still warm from the life that was just taken from them. I couldn’t cry. I couldn’t feel. I sat there waiting to die with them, wanting to die with them. I had nothing to live for, no one else to live for—everyone was gone. There was nothing but the hollowness, the complete emptiness that shook me to my core. Footsteps sounded, and I felt something that might have been a relief. My nightmare would end soon, and I could rejoin my family and my pack in the next life alongside the Moon Goddess. I just hoped it wouldn’t hurt too much, but that part did not matter much; the pain I would feel would mean I was moments away from being reunited with everyone who was taken from me. Strong arms pulled me off them, away from my parents. I s.creamed for them, but I didn’t hear it; I only knew I did because my throat was on fire. I kicked and fought whoever was taking me away with the last of my strength. My anger took hold, and it became all I knew—blazing and raw and demanding. They ripped me from the death that I didn’t want until tonight, when everything I knew, everything I loved, was stolen away from me. My knees ached as I was thrown onto the cold ground, but the sense was numb and far away. I did not think anything physical could compete with the pain of the ties broken with every single member of my pack, the pack I was born to lead—a pack that now consisted of one sole member. “Here she is, Alpha. In one piece as you requested.” A cold hand pulled my hair back, b.aring my face to him. “Good, keep her that way.” I swayed even on my knees. The last thing I remembered was his cruel blue eyes, devoid of any emotion except a flicker of amusement at my suffering. The hollowness in me burst into flames again and turned into raging, unshakable hate that was too soon quelled by the darkness I slipped into. Four years Later “Aren’t you looking lovely? Is that for me because you shouldn’t have,” Dominick crooned leaning against the large entryway, attempting to block my way. I tried to brush past him, but Hudson showed up right behind him. “Going somewhere? Hudson asked and stood next to his brother, a dangerous glimmer dancing in his cold blue eyes. “We wanted to have a closer look at what will be ours in a few short weeks. Oblige us, won't you?” He reached out to touch me but pulled back at the last second. I fought a smirk, looking to my feet instead. Were they not sick of hearing their idle threats? They couldn’t touch me anyway, not until I was eighteen. Commanded by their father, their Alpha, an Alpha who would never be mine. Hudson kicked off the wall and stepped toward me; Dominick followed in his wake. Dominick might have been older, but Hudson was by far the cruelest and the most wicked of the three brothers. They both got their dad's light brown hair, dull and lifeless—like them. They started circling me slowly, like animals who had already caught their prey and were just toying with it now. I knew how this would go, how it always went, and I settled into the character I had perfected effortlessly. “In just a few months—” Hudson chuckled. “A few weeks, actually,” Dominick cut in his brown eyes, roving over my body. Hudson nodded in approval. “A few weeks, and then you belong to us. Play coy all you want. It will just make it more fun when I take you,” He took a step closer to me; although he couldn’t touch me, his hot, wet breath could. It fanned over my neck and made me shudder against my will. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction, “Over and over again, you’ll be locked in my room, nothing but an Alpha’s w.hore,” he told me. “I hope you fight it; it will be that much more fun to break you.” “Who said that it will be you?” Nolan, the youngest, strolled in, looking bored, assessing the situation. He was the only one who got their mother's sandy blonde hair, or what I assumed was her natural color, under all that bleach. “It’s not going to be you anyway,” Dominick scoffed, barely taking notice of his younger brother. No one ever really did; Nolan was never a threat to them, and at this pack, they traded in threats, hollow or not—as long as they were cruel. Nolan crossed his arms and watched. “Whoever gets her, let's just all take a turn with her,” he suggested, not even looking at me, always the peacemaker. “I’m not sharing,” Hudson growled. To be fair, it was probably he who would become the Alpha. They did things differently here at Black River, now Blood River. I couldn’t stomach even thinking about part of the name that they stole from my pack, Blood Moon. Here, the title wasn’t inherited by the oldest, but the alpha’s sons fought for the title. Nothing was more important than a strong bloodline to them. Which is why I was here—alive—the last living direct line of the great, unbroken, and ancient Blood Moon pack. I was the last living pack member. Ancient. My bloodline was ancient, but it would be extinct with me; the bloodline would die with me, and that thought both terrified and calmed me. I was to be the next Alpha’s breeder, not Luna, never Luna, never a position of power. I would produce heirs with a strong bloodline, and they would compete with whatever heirs were born from their mate or chosen Luna for the next Alpha title. No one even bothered to think what their actual Luna would think of her mate bedding another, and no one cared. She would accept it if she wanted to become Luna, and if she didn’t, then they would find another suitable alternative. “I want to be the one to break her in,” Dominick snapped with a playful shrug to his brother. “Once I’m done with that, I might let you guys take a turn just to see what you’re missing. That is if you live long enough.” He chuckled; it was a dark, cruel thing devoid of any real emotion. There was a chance that not all of them would survive to see who was crowned the next Alpha. The fewer of them to deal with, the better. Hudson stopped in front of me and asked, “Our father said that he would let us be there for your first shift. Did you know that?” I didn’t. I fought the look of confusion in my eyes and tried to keep them blank, scared. “Just to see if you are actually one of our mates,” he went on. I doubted The Moon Goddess hated me that much. “But that’s not why we’re coming, of course, mate or not, you’ll belong to the next Alpha,” Hudson finished and curled a side of his mouth in a smile that told me he knew it would be him. “We’re coming to see you s.trip b.are in front of us.” My heart caught in my throat; the thought of them, of the Alpha, seeing me like that made me shake in a way I didn’t have to fake. “Now, now, don’t be nervous.” Dominick came up and bent as close to my ear as the Alpha command allowed to whisper, “We won’t f.uck you that night. That honor is saved for the heir.” He stepped back and crossed his arms, studying my face. “But our father did mention that we could touch.” I swallowed. I didn’t have to pretend to be scared anymore. This was happening too soon. I thought I had more time, not just a few weeks. I wasted too much damn time preparing and took no action. “Stop acting shocked,” Hudson tsked; he had a mad glint in his eye that always unnerved me. I could deal with anger and cruelty but unchecked madness that was unpredictable. “You knew since the moment you arrived here you were to be nothing but an Alpha’s b.reeding w.hore. I’m surprised you haven’t been practicing.” “I wouldn’t want used goods,” Dominick scoffed at his younger brother. I stood there, arms at my side, looking downcast. Early on, I learned they would get bored sooner if I didn’t react and didn’t give them anything besides the picture of a scared s,ubmissive. “Mom wants us at the front; the visiting Alpha is early,” Nolan cut in, and Hudson shot him a glare that promised death. He was a cat that wasn’t done playing with his mouse. A plaything that was all I was reduced to, something to torment out of boredom or to try to get a reaction. I noted my anger at that thought and locked it away for later when it would be useful. “You should get dressed,” Hudson crooned; these idle threats were just annoying at this point, a waste of time. “Wear something pretty for me, something fit for my chosen w.hore.” Dominick laughed along with his brother and turned on his heel, following Hudson out the way they came. Nolan gave me a wary glance before retreating and I was left there alone. I let my shoulders sag for a split second under the weight of their words before I straightened myself up and headed to my room. After all, I was an Alpha’s daughter, and that did not change even if I had no pack.